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Nail Corner: An easy-to-do oval ombré outline manicure!

The best thing about an obsession with nail polish is that you barely have to wait for your manicure to dry before there’s a new trend to try. The second best thing is, of course, just how many other people are creating incredible nail art designs and sharing them—making the online world an amazing hub (or in some cases, a rabbit hole you can get lost for hours in) of inspiration. One of the latest designs to trend online is the “outline” or “framed” manicure: a single colour mani is given retro appeal by painting a a thin line of a darker polish around the edge of the entire nail. (Like a full circle version of the slim silhouette technique!) However, given that the dexterity required for such a design is quite advanced, I created a modified version that skips the need for a skinny brush. One makeup sponge and three shades of polish are all you need for this one—and best of all, you can do it in under an hour.

1. Choose three polishes that are close in colour: a dark shade, a medium, and a light. After applying a base coat, paint each nail with the darkest colour. (I used a deep plum-purple colour.)<br />
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2. Grab a triangle makeup sponge (<a href="http://well.ca/products/covergirl-makeup-masters-sponge_4016.html">like this</a>) and, with your medium shade of polish, paint one brush-full of polish onto a corner of the sponge. Dab directly onto your nail, starting in the middle and working your way out to create a circle. If you make any errors, it's so easy to fix: just repaint the dark polish to cover it up! Reload the sponge with polish for each nail.<br />
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3. Let the medium shade of polish dry, before repeating step 2 with your lightest shade of polish, but this time apply it as a circle inside the medium colour. You want all three polishes to appear as a gradient. <br />
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4. Apply a top coat for extra shine and you're done!